9-24-08 PNC Park, Season Ticket Holder Batting Practice

I was invited by the Pirates to take batting practice on the field at PNC Park on either Wed 9/24 or Sat 9/27.  Since Saturday's weather was looking suspect with rain in the forecast, I chose to go on Wednesday.  I took a half personal day from work and went to the earliest possibly session, 8-10 AM.

I invited my dad along.  My wife had wanted to go, but she just started a new job teaching and didn't want to call off within the first month.

My dad and I left my house at 7AM and got to the stadium within 20 minutes.  Since we had a lot of time to kill, we parked on the Northside on Arch Street for free and walked down to the park.  We reported to the Right Field gate where there was a table set up and signed in.  We were the first ones to sign in.  They gave us a card with #1 on it.  It meant that we were in group #1 to take batting practice.  There were 3 groups.  One of the employees signing is in remarked how there were only 40 people in our group, since it was the early session.

We walked down the tunnel to the field at 8AM and sat in section 1 along the right field line.  The employees who were working the batting practice (all season ticket holder reps) went through what we would be doing during the two hours there. After they gave their speech, we went and sat in the dugout (the visitors' one on the first baseline) where Steve Blass, a former Pirates pitcher and color analyst , addressed us.  He thanked us for our patience and talked about the July trades of Nady and Bay.

Anyway, after he was done talking, group 1 was told to get a helmet and go hit.  They had the standard batting practice set up, complete with the cages and screens.  The only difference between a real batting practice and this was the use of a pitching machine.  They had the machine about 40 feet away, and it was probably set to about 55 mph.  I've hit in batting practice cages before, and I can tell you, the pitch speed was the equivalent to 80-85 mph.  It was a bit tricky to hit.

I was the first batter in the cage and got to hack at 20 pitches.  Contact wise, I thought I did well.  I probably swung and missed at about 4 or 5 pitches.  The balls that I hit were mostly ground balls to 3rd and shortstop, but I had a few line drives mixed in to left field.  I had been playing Homerun derby with a few of the players on the high school baseball team and had been used to 40 mph pitches, so I wasn't able to connect for anything close on my first round in the cage.

My dad hit pretty well.  In fact, overall he was probably the third best hitter in the session.  After we hit, we went and played left field.  Unfortunately, every hitter couldn't touch the pitching machine, so there weren't even any balls that came out to left.  My dad and I played catch in left field until we cycled back around and had more cage time.

Each time a season ticket holder stepped into the cage, Joe Klimchak would announce the name.  He is the ballpark host that's in charge of all the between inning entertainment.  During my second round of BP, I hit better.  I was hitting hard line drives to left field.  My best hit was a rising line drive down the left field line that bounced on the warning track (fair by about 5 inches) and over the fence for a ground rule double.  Steve Blass, who had been leaning on the back of the cage remarked, "Where were you in August!"  (Referring to the 6-22 or so August that the Pirates had).  As soon as he said that, I swung and missed at the next pitch, which was a bit embarrassing.

After hitting the second time, I played shortstop.  I got a few slow rollers, but still not much action.  The infield surface is so nice.  Its nothing like I've ever played on before.

Before the end of practice, since we were using Major League Balls, I decided to take one with a momento.  Since this wasn't a game, and I didn't really have to work to get this ball, I am not counting it in my collection.

After batting practice,  the Pirates provided a buffet style lunch in back of Section 101.  They offered hot dogs, hamburgers, chips, soda, etc.  It was pretty good.  My dad and I grabbed food and sat in the stands as the 10-12 group came in to hit.

It was a really great experience, and next year, I'm taking one out.

Below are some pictures from the day:
(Above) My dad doing his best Rickey Henderson imitation:
(Below) Henderson's 1980 topps card, another picture of my dad: